GENERATION GEAR UP FOR OSONA & APPENNINO DOUBLE

CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto Generation continues its high cadence of racing from recent weeks, moving into La Volta Ciclista Femenina A Osona from June 20–22. Organised by Barcelona Pista Club Esportiu and run through the Catalan Cycling Federation, the race takes place in the Osona region of Catalunya, just an hour from the team’s base in Girona. Now in its second year, the event was won in 2023 by rising UAE Team ADQ talent Paula Blasi.

This year’s edition has drawn a sizeable field of 29 teams and bodes an exciting challenge. Things kick off late Friday afternoon with an excruciating-yet-exhilarating 5.3 kilometre prologue – a wild rollercoaster of a course in Taradell featuring a stinging 1km climb that peaks at 23%, incorporating a 100m ramp in excess of 15%. Given the more than 15 technical corners and near-constant changes in gradient, the cognitive and physical demands will be all-consuming as riders circumnavigate the small Catalan poble.

From there, the weekend moves into two dynamic, captivating road stages. Saturday covers five laps of a nearly 20km circuit, totalling 97km with over 1100m of elevation. The short, steady climbs across a jagged profile should favour a versatile puncheur. Sunday’s final stage offers 81km of more gentler terrain, with longer drags and two ascents of the mild Sant Marc climb (1.5km at 4.5%) as a manageable obstacle. It’s a day that could suit a resilient sprinter if the bunch stays intact.

While Friday is almost guaranteed to suit the powerful, technically adept strongwoman, the unpredictability of non-UCI racing keeps the playbook wide open for the weekend stages. With fewer teams likely able to control the race, tactical freedom increases, and this could lead to more opportunistic shake-ups on the results sheet.

Racing in Osona will be the same five Generation riders who were recently in Catalunya and the Pyrénées: Emily Dixon, Maddie Le Roux, Jule Märkl, Awen Roberts, and Joëlle Messemer. The race offers a valuable opportunity to put their learnings from high-level UCI competition into practice – this time in a less pressurised peloton.

After Osona, Jule and Joëlle will return home to prepare for the German National Championships, while Maddie, Awen, and Emily head directly north to Novi Ligure in Italy for the new Giro dell’Appennino Donne Elite on June 24. For this first-ever edition of a women’s version, they’ll be joined by WorldTeam rider Maria Martins, coming straight from another new race – Copenhagen Sprint.

Tuesday’s 94.8km route starts in Piedmont and wriggles south toward Liguria’s Genoa along the Scrivia River valley, with a steady upward tilt. The key, decisive challenge will be the Livellato climb (5.3km at 3.6%), with the first twisty kilometre averaging nearly 10%. The descent is steep and technical before riders hit the valley floor again for a fast and direct run-in to Genoa, finishing downtown on the historic Via XX Settembre.

HOW TO FOLLOW

La Volta Ciclista Femenina A Osona

Prologue | Friday, June 20 | Taradell – Taradell | 5.3km |  99m elevation | first rider: 15:30 CET.

Stage 1 | Saturday, June 21 | Les Masies – Les Masies | 96.7km | 1143m elevation | Start: 12:30 – Fastest finish: 14:54 CET.

Stage 2 | Sunday, June 22 | Tona – Tona | 81.3km | 723m elevation | Start: 12:30 – Fastest finish: 14:31 CET.

Giro dell’Appennino Donne Elite | UCI 1.2 | Tuesday June 14  | 94.8km | 980m elevation | Start 11:45 CET – fastest finish 15:00 CET.

Live coverage won’t be available for La Volta Femenina A Osona, and is still to be confirmed for the Giro dell’Appennino Donne Elite. Stay updated on X via #VoltaOsonaFemenina and #GiroDellAppennino, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels for the latest team updates.